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Having lessons from a competent instructor is fundamental to your development as a rider, regardless of your level or discipline. Whether you're a novice in dressage, taking classes at a riding school, or you're nearing the top of the show-jumping circuit with one of the country's best trainers, it's important to know what you can do to get the most out of it. Riding lessons cost money and your trainer might be investing precious time to help you. Therefore, it's important for both of you that the collaboration is as beneficial as possible.
"In a nutshell, you'll get the most out of your riding lessons if you listen to your own needs, your trainer's needs, and your horse's needs."
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First and foremost, you should be realistic about what you can expect from each lesson. Don't see it as a defeat if you and your trainer need to spend multiple lessons practising the same thing - it's often necessary. However, that doesn't mean you should give up setting goals for your training - quite the opposite. It can be very rewarding to have a brief chat with your trainer in the first couple of minutes of each session. That way, you can discuss what you've practised since the last lesson, how it's been going, and align your expectations about what you should focus on right now to ultimately reach your goals.
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It should go without saying that as a rider, or 'student', you should be ready on time. If your trainer expects you and your horse to be warmed up, make sure you've done so thoroughly, so you're fully prepared to receive instructions and learn something new. You'll simply get less out of the lesson if you or your horse aren't adequately warmed up to do the things the trainer asks of you.
Trainers spend time - and perhaps even very valuable time - helping their students. Even though a trainer gets paid for their work, it's important to respect what is being said. Many teachers can probably relate to how frustrating it is to have a student who comes up with more excuses than they do rides. You should therefore focus your energy on listening rather than offering explanations of why things are difficult. Of course, things are hard. Your trainer is there to push you, so you can improve. Of course, there should also be room to share if something feels wrong, is difficult, or is not quite understandable. But overall, it's crucial for the quality of your riding lessons that you, as a rider, take on a humble and listening role.
"A rider should remember to look inward before they start to consider whether it's the horse that can't figure things out."
Besides listening carefully and absorbing as much as you can, there's something else you need to remember: you need to use what you learn in your daily training. It can be tempting to put the trainer's words on the back burner when you're training with the horse by yourself - perhaps because what the trainer said didn't quite succeed or make sense at first. But every beginning is hard, and everything new needs to be practised over and over until it feels natural and the result can start to be felt. As a rider, you mustn't think that you know best just because you might know your horse and yourself better than your trainer does. Instead, you should use the words from the lessons to get to know yourself and your horse even better. This simply requires you to also practice the challenging parts at times other than when your instructor is watching.
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So far, we've focused a lot on the relationship between the trainer and the rider - but what about the horse? It also has to do a really big part of the work. That's why one should remember that it also has needs, which must be met for the riding lesson to be successful. Does your horse perhaps need a break along the way? Are you and your trainer demanding more of it than it has the condition or muscle strength for? The most important thing is that you remember to warm up your horse really well so that its body is ready to perform what you and your trainer ask it to do. Then it also needs to be walked off thoroughly, so you have just as good a horse to get on the next day.
No matter how difficult your horse can be to ride, it's never its fault if you have problems during a lesson. When it's hard and difficult for you as a rider, you can be sure that it's not easy for your horse either. Therefore, it's about using the horse's signals to try to understand it even better. Your trainer will certainly be aware of it, and therefore it's important that you are too. In other words, as a rider, one must remember to look inward before starting to consider whether it's the horse that can't figure it out. And one thing is certain: a horse will never deliberately oppose its rider. Either it is too difficult for it, or it receives misleading signals from its rider.
"A successful riding lesson isn't just about giving everything you have. It's about making it a positive experience to give everything you have."
All in all, you get the most out of your riding lesson if you listen to your own, your trainer's and your horse's needs. The trainer is there to push you, and it is an absolutely essential element for you to get better. It should be hard, but it should not hurt. If you push yourself too hard, you risk just performing worse - and maybe your horse says no because you don't have the strength to give it the right signals. It could also be that your horse runs out of strength. Therefore, you should not be afraid to ask for a walk break - you just shouldn't ask for it all the time. For if your trainer feels that you are a little too easily 'giving up', then they can - quite understandably - quickly lose the desire to help you on your way. Show therefore that you and your horse give everything you can, and that it is therefore serious when you ask for a break. In short, it's about finding a balance between pushing oneself and making room for a break. A successful riding lesson is not just about giving everything you have. It's about making it a positive experience to give everything you have.
Read also: Why do we fall off the horse?
